ered you, at the time, the god of the sea and the air: Iao, Iasdo . . . aeia.
Iao and Iasdo are variants of Yahweh, a Jewish name
for God.
Curses in Witchcraft
During the witchcraft trials in Europe and Britain, witches were often accused of cursing victims and of causing blight, misfortune, illness, and even death. In 1612–13, about 20 persons were suspected of witchcraft in the Pendle Forest area in Lancashire, England; 11 were tried. Sixty-year-old Anne Whittle, known as “Old Chattox,” confessed to having a PACT with the devil and to practicing malefi c magic. When a farmer ordered her off his land, she urinated on it (see URINE) and said that the land was now cursed and that cattle would never be able to graze there. For centuries cattle died and could not thrive there. In the 1950s, a poisonous weed was found that was believed to be the cause. Though the weed seemed a natural reason for the problem, local residents noted that it was unusual that the weed grew in that particular fi eld only and not in the surrounding area.
In numerous other witch trials, witches were accused of cursing people by sticking pins into poppets, by bl ast - ing, and by casting various spells.
Curses often are written or publicly proclaimed to maximize their effectiveness upon the victim. Many curses, however, are done in secret magical r it ual s. A widespread method of cursing is to pray against a victim, even to death. (See deat h pr ayer ; hex.)
Curses among Magicians
In the Western magical tradition, cursing is done frequently among occultists and is not considered to be immoral. Arguments and disputes can result in cursing warfare. Famous cursing battles took place among members of the HERMETICORDEROFTHEGOLDENDAWN, involving the
sending of vampiric entities. SAMUELLIDDELLMacGREGOR MATHERS, and ALEISTERCROWLEY engaged in such mutual attacks. The magician WILLIAMG. GRAY was known to send powerful curses against most of his students.
Cursing is still done in magical lodges and circles in modern times, though practitioners often are secretive about it due to beliefs by younger generations that curs- ing is immoral and will backfi re on the sender. In Wicca, Paganism, and many modern magical traditions, there is a belief that magic of any sort will return to the sender, sometimes threefold; hence a curse will be revisited on the sender with three times the effect. More acceptable to many practitioners is the “binding spell,” which is intended to prevent another person from interfering or doing harm.
This moralistic view against cursing is not found in most magical and sor c ery practices outside the modern West.
Cursing Demons
In ceremonial magic, spirits or DEMONS who refuse to appear when evoked in ritual may be cursed to burn in
fi re by the magician. This threat is said to terrify the spirits into obedience. The Key of Solomon GRIMOIRE gives this curse:
We deprive ye of all offi ce and dignity which ye may have enjoyed up till now; and by their virtue and power we rel- egate you unto a lake of sulphur and of fl ame, and unto the deepest depths of the Abyss, that ye may burn therein eternally for ever.
Another curse is called “Curse of the Chains” or “The General Curse (called the Spirits Chains),” and involves ritual cursing and a sealing of the disobedient demon inside a box bound by ir on chains:
O spirit N., who art wicked and disobedient, because thou hast not obeyed my commands and the glorious and incomprehensible Names of the true God, the Creator of all things, now by the irresistible power of these Names I curse thee into the depths of the Bottomless Pit, there to remain in unquenchable fi re and brimstone until the Day of Wrath unless thou shalt forthwith appear in this trian- gle before this circle to do my will. Come quickly and in peace by the Names Adonai, Zebaoth, Adonai, Amioram. Come, come, Adonai King of Kings commands thee.
The magician then writes the demon’s name and seal on parchment, which he or she places in a black wooden box that contains sulphur and other foul-smelling ingre- dients. He or she binds the box with iron chains, which imprison the demon. The magician hangs the box on the point of a sword and holds it over a fi re, saying:
I conjure thee, Fire, by Him who made thee and all other creatures of this world to burn, torture and consume this spirit N. now and for evermore.
The magician warns the demon that his name and seal will be burned in the box and then buried. If the spirit still does not appear, the magician works himself or herself up into a greater fury of cursing, calling down the wrath of all the company of heaven, the sun, the moon, the stars, and the light of the hosts of heaven. As a fi nal measure, he or she drops the box into the fi re. The demon will fi nd this unbearable and will appear.
Cursed Objects
Any object can be ritually cursed to affect whoever owns it with bad luck, misfortune, and even death. Sometimes objects are cursed by circumstances. For example, the “screaming skulls” of England are said to be haunted by restless ghosts of the dead. Some skulls belong to victims of religious persecution during the 16th-century Reforma- tion initiated by King Henry VIII. Others are from Oliver Cromwell’s Roundheads during the English Civil War in the mid-17th century. Still other skulls are from people who lost their heads in various violent episodes, such as murders.
The victims often gave the same deathbed curse: If their remains were not buried within the walls of their house, their spirits would not rest in peace. The skulls reportedly
act up whenever someone tries to remove them from their houses. The skulls are said to reappear mysteriously and then take revenge by causing bad luck or death. Violent storms or fi res may destroy the property, or crops may fail and cattle dry up or die.
Protection against Curses
Numerous remedies against cursing exist universally. AMU-
LETS protect against or defl ect curses, whether a person has specifi c knowledge about them or not. Semiprecious stones and jewels have been used since ancient times as amulets against curses and other forms of dark magic, illness, and misfortune. For example, the ancient Egyptians inscribed spells on lapis lazuli. The early Greeks and Romans wore certain carved semiprecious and precious gems as RINGS
and necklaces to ward off curses.
It is assumed in many cultures that one will be cursed by one’s enemies for any reason. Spells, c har ms, and peti- tions invoke the protection and intervention of benevo- lent spirits. An individual who has been cursed sometimes visits another witch or sorcerer to break the curse, and to curse the curser back.
The “Curse” of Tutankamen
Ancient Egyptians sought to protect their tombs by curs- ing anyone who broke into them. Such curses were written on the walls and sarcophagi in the tombs. The Egyptians believed that tomb desecration would render the spirit of the dead homeless.
The most famous story of an Egyptian tomb curse was that of the lavish burial place of the pharaoh Tutanka- men, discovered in 1922 by Lord Carnavon and Howard Carter. According to lore, the Englishmen found a clay tablet inside the tomb with a curse written upon it: “Death will slay with his wings whoever disturbs the pharaoh’s peace.”
However, the existence of this tablet has never been proved. It was not photographed and supposedly disap- peared from the collection of artifacts. According to Egyp- tologist Bob Brier, it is doubtful that the tablet existed. There are no reliable references to such a curse. Further-
more, it was not typical Egyptian custom to write on clay tablets or to describe death as coming on wings.
Nonetheless, mysterious deaths affected some of the people involved in the tomb’s opening and excavation. Carnavon, 56, died two months later. He cut his face shav- ing, and the cut became infected. He fell into a severe fever and delirium and repeated, “A bird is scratching my face.” When he died, all the lights were said to go out in Cairo.
Others associated with the tomb also died. George Jay- Gould, American entrepreneur, visited the tomb and died soon thereafter. British industrialist Joel Woolf visited the tomb and on the way home to England via boat fell into a fever and died.
By 1929, 22 people associated with tomb had died, seemingly prematurely. Thirteen of them had been present at the opening of the tomb. In 1966 and 1972, two Egyptian directors of antiquities who were involved in exhibitions of the Tutankamen treasures died: One was killed when he was hit by a car, and the other fell dead when the Tutankamen gold mummy mask left Cairo for exhibition in England.
Howard Carter died of natural causes in 1939. He had maintained a strong skepticism of the power of curses throughout his life, thus lending support to the idea that belief in curses initiates self-fulfi llment of them.
Furt her Reading:
Brier, Bob. Ancient Egyptian Magic. New York: William Mor- row, 1980.
Butler, E. M. Ritual Magic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1949.
Cavendish, Richard. The Black Arts. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 1967.
Gordon, Stuart. The Book of Curses: True Tales of Voodoo, Hoo-
doo and Hex. London: Brockhampton Press, 1994.
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Witches and
Witchcraft. 2d ed. New York: Facts On File Inc., 1999.
Luck, Georg. Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek
and Roman Worlds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1985.
Robins, Joyce. The World’s Greatest Mysteries. London: Ham- lyn Publishing Group Ltd., 1989.
69
daimones In Greek mythology, a type of spirit or INTELLI-
GENCE between gods and humans. Daimones means “divine beings.” They can be either good or evil in nature, though even good ones will act in a hostile fashion when angered. A good daimon is called an agathodaimon, and an evil daimon is called a kakodaimon. Christianity assigned all of them to the infernal ranks of DEMONS, along with all pagan deities.
Daimones include various classes of entities, such as
guardian spirits of places, t ut el ary spir it s, genii, minis- tering spirits, and demigods. They also have been associ- ated with the souls of the dead and ghosts, and with stars and pl anet s, and with plants and minerals of the Earth. They are ministering spirits (resembling ang el s), god- like beings, and souls of dead persons. Daimones can take over human bodies in the form of possession (especially for oracular prophecy) and also possess humans to cause physical and mental illness. Some are vampiric in nature.
g r imoir es for ceremonial mag ic include instructions for evoking and commanding daimones.
Furt her Reading:
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen. The Encyclopedia of Angels. 2d ed. New York, Facts On File Inc., 2004.
Luck, Goerg. Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in the Greek
and Roman Worlds. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University
Press, 1985.
Damian, John (15th–16th c.) Scottish alchemist who
assisted King James IV (1473–1513). John Damian appar-
ently lacked great alchemical knowledge but made up for his defi ciency in brashness and daring. He convinced James to set up an alchemical laboratory in Stirling Castle where Damian spent huge sums of money for years try- ing to make GOLD. James eventually tired of the expense and made Damian an abbot. Damian continued to bor- row money from the king to supplement his abbot’s salary. He was fond of elaborate clothing and whiskey and wine. Despite his lack of alchemical success, Damian remained on good terms with James and played dice and cards often with him.
Once while still at Stirling Castle, Damian attempted to fl y by fastening wings made of feathers to himself and leaping off the castle battlements. He fell to the ground and broke a leg. He explained away his failure by the fact that some of the feathers were from barn-door birds who seldom fl ew much.
D’Apone, Pietro (b. 1250) Italian physician, alchemist,
and reputed magician who met his demise in the Inquisi- tion. Many of the feats of MAGIC and SORCERY attributed to Pietro D’Apone were probably more fi ction than fact, but they were suffi cient to secure his condemnation.
D’Apone was born in Apone, near Padua, Italy, in 1250. A physician, he knew ar nol d de vil l anova. He possessed enough knowledge about ast r ol og y, al c hemy, and the magical arts to impress others. He lived in Paris for many years where he made his living by telling fortunes and practicing medicine; then D’Apone returned to Italy.
D
s
s
s
According to lore, his powers came from seven infer- nal f amil iar s that he kept trapped in seven crystal vases. Each familiar functioned like a muse with its own area of expertise: philosophy, alchemy, astrology, medicine, poetry, music, and painting. Whenever D’Apone needed informa- tion, he let out a familiar and received instruction from it. It was said that with the help of the spirits, D’Apone could mimic the greatest artists and thinkers.
D’Apone reputedly made g ol d out of brass, but he used magic to keep it to himself. Whenever he gave out his gold, he said a c har m over it that caused it to be returned magically to him. No locks or surveillance could keep the gold in place. This power extended to sil - ver as well.
D’Apone thus had few friends and many enemies and compounded his unpopularity by making unwise state- ments about religion that came to the attention of the Inquisition. He was arrested and charged with heresy and sorcery and was brought before an Inquisition tribunal. He was tortured severely on the rack but continued to protest his innocence.
D’Apone died in prison before being brought to trial. He was found guilty posthumously. The Inquisition ordered his bones to be dug up and publicly burned. He was burned in effi gy in the streets of Padua.
Furt her Reading:
Mackay, Charles. Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the
Madness of Crowds. New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
1932.
David-Neel, Alexandra (1868–1969) French explorer,
occultist, and Tibetan scholar. Alexandra David-Neel led an exotic life and was the fi rst Western woman to enter Llasa, the forbidden capital of Tibet. She spent 14 years in Tibet and became one of the fi rst Westerners to learn Tibetan secrets of MAGIC and mysticism. Her knowledge infl uenced the magical practices of other Western occult- ists, such as FRANZBARDON. David-Neel loved adventure and said that the surest ELIXIR is not an alchemical formula but travel and intellectual activity.
Life
David-Neel claimed to be descended from Genghis Khan on her mother’s side. She was born Louise Eugenie Alex- andrine Marie David on October 24, 1868, in Paris. Her father, Louis David, was a Huguenot activist and friend of novelist Victor Hugo. At age fi ve, she moved to Brussels with her parents.
From early childhood, David-Neel was odd and sickly, preferring solitude to the company of friends. She suffered from depression. She had a talent for music and singing. She longed to go off by herself to travel and explore dis- tant lands—an unusual interest for women of her era. At age 15 she read a journal published by the Supreme Gno- sis, an occult society in London, and became fascinated
by occultism. Five years later, she was sent to London to study for a year; she boarded at the Supreme Gnosis quar- ters. David-Neel reveled in the occult activities and lec- tures of the t heosophic al soc iet y, r osic r uc ianism, and spiritualism.
Upon completion of her studies in London 1889, she went to Paris to attend the Sorbonne. She lived with The- osophists in the Latin Quarter. She became interested in Buddhism and wrote articles on religion and occultism for various intellectual journals. Around the end of 1890 or early 1891, she was severely depressed and decided to commit suicide by shooting herself with her handgun. She changed her mind, deciding that suicide was a coward’s way out that would incur bad karma in her next incarna- tion.
In 1891 David-Neel inherited money from a god- mother, which enabled her to travel to India and Ceylon. She joined the cult of Sri Ananda Sarawati, where she was introduced to hashish. She reportedly smoked it only once, and for the remainder of her life she considered drugs use- less for occult work.
Travel consumed her inheritance, and David-Neel returned to Paris to work as a singer under the pseud- onym Mademoiselle Myrial, after one of Hugo’s characters. In 1900, at age 32, she met Philip Neel, a bachelor and engineer seven years her senior. She became one of his many mistresses. David-Neel had resisted getting married because she did not want to lose her legal rights and be subjugated by a husband. Neel was persuasive, however, and the two were married in 1904 in Tunis. Two stormy years later, David-Neel left Neel and went to Belgium on the excuse of paying respects to a friend who had died. Her real reason probably was to avoid getting pregnant, for Neel was pressing her to have a child. David-Neel never returned to the marriage. They remained married but led separate lives. Neel supported her fi nancially during most of her years of travel.
By 1904 David-Neel had gained recognition in occult circles in London and Paris for her articles and lectures on Buddhism. In 1911 she followed her husband’s suggestion to return to India to study Eastern languages. She met the mystic Sri Aurobindo in 1911 and was deeply impressed by him.
In 1912 she met the man who opened the door to Tibet for her: Sidkeong Tulku, the Maharaj Kumar (Crown Prince) of Sikkim. He invited her to visit him in Gang- tok, the capital of Sikkim, which lies at the border between India and Tibet. There she became romantically involved with the crown prince and became fascinated by Tibet. Sidkeong took her hiking through the mountains and introduced her to lamas of both the Red Hat (traditional) and Yellow Hat (reformed) branches of Tibetan Buddhism. Wherever she went, people treated her as an emanation of Queen Victoria, the Palden Llamo, or patron goddess of Tibet.
On April 15, 1912, David-Neel had the fi rst of her two audiences with the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, held in